Circular Letter Pen 16/02

CIRCULAR LETTER PEN 16/02

Admission of Lecturers in Institutes of Technology to the Education Sector Superannuation Scheme (formerly included in the Local Government Superannuation Scheme)

TO: PRESIDENT, DUBLIN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
DIRECTOR, EACH INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

1. INTRODUCTION.

1.1In this Circular, the term “lecturer” includes Eligible Part-time Teachers and Temporary Wholetime Teachers.

1.2Following discussions with the education partners under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work it has been agreed that temporary wholetime service and certain part-time service as a lecturer in an Institute of Technology, (IOT), will become pensionable on an ongoing basis with effect from 1 September 1996. The purpose of this Circular is to give effect to these provisions of the Agreement.

1.3 In order to facilitate implementation of the Agreement it has been agreed that the functions exercised by the Minister for Environment in regard to the superannuation of lecturers in Institutes of Technology should be transferred to the Minister for Education and Science. An Order giving effect to the transfer was made on 30 January 2001. The Order provides that schemes and regulations made before the commencement of the Order by the Minister for the Environment under the Local Government (Superannuation) Act, 1980, insofar as they relate to any person currently or formerly employed by a Vocational Education Committee, other than as a vocational teacher, or any person currently or formerly employed by an Institute of Technology, including the former Regional Technical Colleges, shall from the commencement of the Order be known as the Education Sector Superannuation Scheme.

(The functions relating to the pensions of vocational teachers have already, under an Order made in 1998, been transferred to this Department in 1998.)

A brief outline of the Education Sector Superannuation Scheme is given at Appendix 1

1.4 Under the Protection of Employees (Part-time Work) Act, provision has been made for the pensionability on an ongoing basis of further categories of part-time workers. The Government has decided that the pay and pensions provisions of the Act will be operative from 20 December 2001. Discussions with the education partners are taking place regarding implementation of the Act and it is expected that a circular in this regard will be issued shortly. In the meantime, part-time lecturers should be provided for in accordance with the provisions set out in this circular, ie circular PEN 16/02.

2. ELIGIBILITY FOR MEMBERSHIP.

2.1 Prior to 1 September 1996, membership of the Education Sector Superannuation Scheme was compulsory on an ongoing basis for all permanent wholetime lecturers employed by IOTs.

2.2 From 1 September 1996 to 19 December 2001, membership of the Scheme is compulsory on an ongoing basis for all lecturers employed by IOTs and who

(a)(with the exception of the categories referred to at 2.3 below), are fully-qualified academically, as set out in the PCW Agreement, for purposes of appointment to a permanent lecturing post with an IOTAND

(b) are employed in permanent employment or in quasi-permanent employment AND

(c) have satisfactory health.

2.3 Fully Qualified - Exceptions.

2.3.1 Exceptionally, a lecturer in an Eligible Part-time post who is not fully qualified but has been in regular part-time service without interruption from a date prior to 1 September 1987, will be deemed eligible for admission to the Superannuation Scheme.

(The EPT Scheme provides that EPT posts may be filled by unqualified lecturers only where no suitable, fully-qualified applicant is available and that the IOT must advertise for a fully-qualified applicant each year. Exceptionally, the EPT Scheme provides that unqualified lecturers who have been in regular part-time service from a date prior to 1 September 1987may continue to serve in their EPT post from year to year on the same basis as fully-qualified EPTs.)

2.3.2Exceptionally, a lecturer holding the Pro Rata Part-time post of Assistant Lecturer who is not fully qualified academically but was appointed to the post as a result of the special competition, confined to certain part-time teachers, which was held during the 1999/2000 academic year, will be deemed eligible for admission to the Superannuation Scheme.

(As in the case of the unqualified EPTs who have been in regular part-time service without interruption from a date prior to 1 September 1987, Assistant Lecturers appointed from the special competition may continue to serve in the posts in question from year to year – IOTs are not obliged to seek fully qualified lecturers to fill the posts.)

2.4 Quasi-permanent employment.

2.4.1For purposes of admission to the superannuation scheme, all lecturers holding Pro Rata Part-time posts or EPT posts will be regarded as in quasi-permanent employment.

2.4.2In addition, a part-time lecturer will be regarded as in quasi-permanent employment during any academic year in which the lecturer was employed for a minimum of 200 hours and for a minimum of 25 weeks.

2.5Satisfactory health.

A lecturer who has already passed a medical examination for purposes of appointment will not have to undergo a medical examination for purposes of the Superannuation Scheme. Otherwise, before membership of the Scheme can be approved, the prospective member must undergo a medical examination by a doctor nominated for that purpose by the IOT under arrangements currently in place.

A lecturer who fails to attend for a medical examination without good cause may be regarded as having failed the examination.

Lecturers who undergo the medical examination for purposes of admission to the Scheme will, on application to the IOT for reimbursement, have the costs reimbursed of the medical examination which has been carried out by the doctor nominated by the IOT.

3.COMPULSORY MEMBERSHIP.

It will be a matter for the IOT to confirm that a lecturer satisfies the requirements for membership of the Scheme. It will be a condition for appointment to an eligible post that a lecturer passes a medical examination by a doctor nominated by the IOT.

Lecturers who are otherwise eligible, who have not already undergone a medical examination for purposes of appointment and who are in service on or after 1 February 2003 will be referred for a medical examination by the IOT as soon as possible after that date.

Ongoing deductions from salary for superannuation purposes will be made from 1 February 2003 (or as soon as possible thereafter) in the case of all eligible lecturers. The deductions will be made provisionally in the case of a lecturer who has been referred for a medical examination or whose academic qualifications are subject to verification. In the event of the lecturer failing the medical examination or failing to provide satisfactory evidence of qualifications, a refund of the superannuation contributions paid provisionally will be made.

4.COMMENCEMENT DATE OF MEMBERSHIP FOR TEMPORARY WHOLETIME AND PART-TIME LECTURERS.

4.1 Lecturers who are not eligible for admission to the Superannuation Scheme except in accordance with the provisions of this Circular will be formally admitted to the Scheme from 1 February 2003 (or as soon thereafter as ongoing deductions from pay commence) or, where they are required to undergo a medical examination for purposes of admission, from the date on which they pass the medical examination.

Membership will be backdated where the lecturer had eligible service prior to the date of formal admission. The effective date of admission to the Scheme in the case of such a lecturer will be 1 September 1996 or date of appointment to eligible employment, if later.

4.2 Arrears of contributions will be due in respect of the period between the effective date of admission to the Scheme and the commencement of ongoing deductions.

The arrears will be recovered by increasing the ongoing contribution by instalments, over a period corresponding to the length of the service to which the arrears relate, until all arrears have been collected.

5. SUPERANNUATION CONTRIBUTIONS AND PRSI CONTRIBUTIONS.

5.1 The rate of superannuation contribution payable in respect of any period of ongoing pensionable service is dependent on whether, during that period, the lecturer is liable for the Class D rate of PRSI, has transitional liability for the Class A rate or has ongoing liability for the Class A rate.

5.2 Lecturer liable for the Class D rate of PRSI.

5.2.1Lecturers appointed prior to 6 April 1995:-

(a)The Class D rate is payable in the case of any lecturer who was appointed to a permanent wholetime postprior to 6 April 1995 and who continues to serve in such a post (or an approved job-sharing post) without interruption.

Exceptionally, the Class D rate is also payable, from 1 September 1996, in the case of any lecturer holding a post on a permanent half-time basis – and who has held such a post without interruption from before 6 April 1995. (A very small number of lecturers were appointed in the past on a permanent half-time basis in exceptional circumstances. No such appointments have been sanctioned in recent years and none are envisaged in the future.)

(b)The Class D rate is payable, from date of appointment to a permanent wholetime post, in the case of a lecturer who was appointed to a Temporary Wholetime or an Eligible Part-time (EPT) post on or before 5 April 1995, and who, in the period from 5 April 1995 to date of permanent appointment, has continued to serve in such a post, including a Pro Rata Part-time post, without interruption. The Lecturer will be liable for the Class A rate of PRSI on a transitional basis – see 5.3 below – during the period prior to appointment to the permanent post.

5.2.2Lecturers appointed since 6 April 1995:-

(a)The Class D rate is payable in the case of any lecturer appointed to a permanent wholetime post in an IOT and who, immediately prior to such appointment, was employed in a post in the public sector in which he or she was liable for the modified rate (Class B, C or D) of PRSI.

(b)The Class D rate is also payable, from date of appointment to a permanent wholetime post, in the case of a lecturer appointed to a Temporary Wholetime or Eligible Part-time or Pro Rata Part-time post, who has continued to serve in such a post without interruption up to the date of permanent appointment and who, immediately prior to appointment to the temporary wholetime post, was employed in a post in the public sector in which he or she was liable for the modified rate (Class B, C or D) of PRSI. The lecturer will be liable for the Class A rate of PRSI on a transitional basis – see 5.3 below – during the period prior to appointment to the permanent post.

5.2.3 A member who pays PRSI at the Class D rate will pay a superannuation contribution of 6.5% of Current Pay or, if he/she is not a member of the Spouses' Scheme, 5% of Current Pay.

(Male lecturers in pensionable service in 1969 and female lecturers in 1984 were given the option of joining the Spouses' Scheme and paying 1.5% of Current Pay towards that Scheme or of remaining in the main Superannuation Scheme only. All lecturers appointed to pensionable service since 1984 must join both the main scheme and the Spouses' Scheme.)

5.3 Transitional liability for the Class A rate of PRSI.

A lecturer who is admitted to ongoing pensionable service with effect from 1 September 1996 whilst serving in a Temporary Wholetime or Eligible Part-time post, and who has uninterrupted service since before 6 April 1995 in such a post (or a Pro Rata Part-time post), will remain liable to pay the Class A rate of PRSI, on a transitional basis, in respect of the period between 1 September 1996 and date of appointment to a permanent post.

Similarly, a lecturer who is admitted to ongoing pensionable service since 1 September 1996 whilst serving in a Temporary Wholetime or Eligible Part-time or Pro Rata Part-time post and who, immediately prior to such appointment, was employed in a post in the public sector in which he or she was liable for the modified rate (Class B, C or D) of PRSI, will be liable to pay the Class A rate of PRSI, on a transitional basis, in respect of the period between the effective date of admission to pensionable service and the date of appointment to a permanent post.

Superannuation contributions at the Full Co-ordinated Rate will be payable in respect of the transitional period between admission to pensionable service and date of permanent appointment. The Full Co-ordinated Rate is made up of 1.5% of Current Pay and 5% of Current Co-ordinated Pay, (including 1.5% of Current Co-ordinated Pay towards the Spouses' Scheme).

Current Co-ordinated Pay is Current Pay less twice the maximum personal rate of Old Age Contributory Pension, (OACP). Twice the maximum personal rate of OACP is currently - from 4 January 2002 - €15,372.23 per year.

5.4 Officer with ongoing liability for the Class A rate of PRSI.

5.4.1Except in the circumstances outlined at 5.2 or 5.3 above,lecturers will have ongoing liability for the Class A rate of PRSI throughout their service.

5.4.2 A lecturer who has ongoing liability for the Class A rate of PRSI throughout his or her service will be liable, from effective date of admission to ongoing pensionable service, for a superannuation contribution at the Ongoing Co-ordinated Rate. The Ongoing Co-ordinated Rate is made up of 3% of Current Pay (including 1.5% of Current Pay towards the Spouses' Scheme) and 3.5% of Current Co-ordinated Pay.

The ongoing rate of co-ordinated contribution, which provides for a higher contribution to the Spouses' Scheme than the full co-ordinated rate specified in 5.3 above, was agreed in the context of the introduction in 1995 of full PRSI for public servants generally.

5.5 Note that for purposes of determining the rate of superannuation contribution payable in respect of any period of actual service, a period of job-sharing, a career break or approved leave of absence will not be regarded as an interruption of employment.

6. RECKONING OF ONGOING PENSIONABLE SERVICE GIVEN AS A PART-TIME LECTURER FROM 1 SEPTEMBER 1996.

The value of superannuation benefits is calculated by reference to length of pensionable service. Unless the lecturer retires from part-time service or dies while in part-time service, (see paragraph 7 below), part-time service in respect of which contributions have been paid on an ongoing basis will be reckoned as follows.

6.1 In the case of EPT service as a College Teacher, pensionable service will be reckoned in the proportion which the weekly hours worked bear to wholetime service of20 hours.

(Note that recruitment to the grade of College Teacher has ceased with effect from 1
September 1998)

6.2 In the case of EPT service or Pro Rata service as an Assistant Lecturer, pensionable service will be reckoned in the proportion which the weekly hours worked bear to wholetime service of18 hours.

6.3 In the case of:-

(1)EPT service as a Lecturer 1or

(2)EPT service or Pro Rata service as a Lecturer,

pensionable service will be reckoned in the proportion which the weekly hours worked bear to wholetime service of16 hours.

(Note that recruitment to the grade of Lecturer 1 has ceased with effect from 1 September
1998)

Example:-Ongoing pensionable service as an Assistant Lecturer in a Pro Rata Part-time post for 14 hours per week throughout the year will be reckoned as 14/18 of a full year, ie 0.7777 of a year, since Pro Rata lecturers are paid salary for the full 52.18 weeks of the academic year, including holiday periods. (If the lecturer in question had been employed in a Pro Rata post for only part of the year, say from 1 October to 28 February, the service to be credited in respect of that period would be 14/18 x 151/365 = 0.3217 of a year.)

6.4In the case of service at the part-time hourly rate, pensionable service during the academic year will, subject to maximum credit of one year’s pensionable service in respect of any one academic year, be reckoned in the proportion which the annual hours worked, including statutory holidays, bear to 835 hours. The figure of 835 hours is, for the post of Lecturer, the hourly equivalent of a year of pensionable service, (16 hours x 52.18 = 835 hours).

Examples:-

(1) Ongoing pensionable service at the part-time hourly rate which came to 600 hours
in the academic year would be reckoned as 600/835 of a year = 0.7185 of a year.

Note that service in an academic year which consists solely of service at the part-
time hourly rate will not be pensionable on an ongoing basis unless it satisfies all of
the criteria specified for eligibility including, in particular, the quasi-permanent
requirement as defined in 2.4 of this Circular.

(2)Additional part-time hourly-paid service of 150 hours given by a lecturer who was also in ingoing pensionable service of 14 hours per week in a Pro Rata part-time post of Assistant Lecturer would be reckoned as

150 hours = 0.1796 of a year

835

In this example, the Assistant Lecturer’s total pensionable service during the academic year would come to 0.9573 of a year, made up of 0.7777 of a year (ie 14/18 of a year) arising from Pro Rata service and 0.1796 of a year arising from additional part-time service.

7. RETIREMENT OR DEATH WHILE IN PART-TIME SERVICE WHICH IS PENSIONABLE ON AN ONGOING BASIS.

7.1 Where a lecturer retires from part-time service which is pensionable on an ongoing basis, pension benefits will be related to actual pay at retirement and to pensionable service where the lecturer is given one full year's credit for each year of part-time service.

Similarly, where a lecturer dies while in part-time service which is pensionable on an ongoing basis, pension benefits will be related to actual salary at death and to pensionable service where the lecturer is given one full year's credit for each year of part-time service. Potential pensionable service for purposes of a Spouses' and Childrens' pension will be counted in full years from the date of death.

An appropriate adjustment may be made where hours vary substantially during service.

These provisions will be reviewed in the light of the Report of the Commission on Public Service Pensions and are subject to change in the light of that review.

NB 1:- Pending review, and further clarification of this provision, IOTs should contact this Department in any case where a lecturer is about to retire from part-time service which is pensionable on an ongoing basis or dies whilst in such service.

NB 2:- Remember that, for the purposes of this Circular, part-time service which is pensionable on an ongoing basis is service which meets the Eligibility requirements set out in paragraph 2 of this Circular.

7.2 Note that where a lecturer retires or dies whilst job-sharing, the lecturer should be credited with half a year’s service for each year spent job-sharing and superannuation benefits should be calculated by reference to the wholetime equivalent of the job-sharing pay.

8. PART-TIME AND TEMPORARY LECTURERS WHO HAVE RETIRED OR DIED SINCE 1 SEPTEMBER 1996.